


Echoes and Remnants

by pretzelduck



Category: All Elite Wrestling, Professional Wrestling
Genre: Angst, Drama, Future Fic, Hopeful Ending, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-10
Updated: 2020-09-10
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:28:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26397172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pretzelduck/pseuds/pretzelduck
Summary: Down the road, Kenny - embraced by and enveloped in darkness - stands triumphant, title in hand.  But Adam - fallen and risen - has come to challenge him.
Relationships: Kenny Omega/Adam Page
Comments: 12
Kudos: 25





	Echoes and Remnants

**Author's Note:**

> This fic would not leave me alone. It's different from my usual style but the words and the cadence and the structure literally haunted my sleep. I think this is my way of dealing with the whole Kenny/Adam/Elite storyline and all of its drama and angst.

_Of course, this is what it comes down to._

He had known that Hangman would get past every obstacle. Rise above every barrier thrown into his path. Kenny both dreads and looks forward to the confrontation. Standing across from one another. A lifetime ago, they stood beside each other. If he thinks hard enough - allows his mind to wander long enough - Kenny can still remember what it looked like. Hangman with his arm outstretched, waiting to be tagged in. There might have been more - a worried glance or a reassuring touch - but the darkness has blurred those memories. Claimed them.

They stand face-to-face. A final meeting before the match. Hangman says little, Kenny says more. He digs at old insecurities and throws out reminders of old betrayals. He aims to hurt. Waits for a reaction - a flash of anger or a rush of shame - but nothing comes. Hangman is calm and steady, buoyed by faith and self-confidence of all things at last. Behind a pair of aviators, Kenny feels something. It's odd to feel anything. But for a single instant, it's enough to cause a flicker. A quiet spark that he needs to extinguish. He can't be that again. Kenny knows he's too far gone. But Hangman just keeps looking at him. As if he can see through the sunglasses and the shadows. As if he is gazing deep down until he finds that light, so long since dimmed.

_Do you trust me?_

The words echo like they used to and it hurts. How had he forgotten how much it hurt? But what he sees is even more painful. There is no more closed-off expression on Hangman's face. Instead, there is worry in those eyes - care and concern completely unhidden. But it is the smile that causes agony. Not the fierce and triumphant grin of the rising Hangman but something else. Soft and a little crooked - Adam's smile. It pierces and burns and soothes. The warmth lingers beneath Kenny's ribs long after they've both left the ring.

For Hangman to smile like that - to see him and see the remnants of what he once was - it was something to exploit. A route to take. That smile was vulnerability and weakness but in the sleepless night before the match, Kenny wasn't sure whose it was.

He insists on entering first. Champion's privilege, Kenny calls it. But it's a reminder more than anything else. The title is his. The ring is his. Hangman is entering the Cleaner's territory. An unwelcome guest, at best. He stands as Devil's Sky blares resoundingly - echoes across the arena and owns every inch it touches.

_This is who he is._

There is a moment of silence as the music shifts. And then Kenny hears the tune he used to wait for and it's louder than he's ever heard. Amplified by the roar of each person who hears it. He feels completely alone in that ring - all alone on a battlefield. No one on his side but him. Then Hangman enters, once again astride a horse, and everything goes quiet.

Even across the distance, they are looking at each other. Kenny has no idea if Hangman even blinks. His face is resolute yet hopeful and it takes more strength than it should for him to hold his ground. Hangman looks neither like a challenger for his title nor a rival for his throne. He moves like a man coming to the rescue and that flicker burns yet brighter. There are pieces of laughter and happiness there. The shadows cannot erase them this time.

_The Hangman has not come for the Cleaner. Adam has come for Kenny._

It isn't until he enters the ring that Kenny sees what Hangman is wearing. Pants that had only been seen a single time before - the last time they fought on the same side. It's a reminder and a warning and a beacon. Kenny feels the table in his hand a second time. Hears the thud of Adam hitting the ground, even over the crowd and the quiet. Hangman's eyes are fiery and clear. Every gesture, fearless and sure. The light within Kenny screams against the void.

Once the bell rings, it's more difficult than it should be to shake off the sentiment. They circle each other, looking for advantages and weaknesses. But every hole he remembers Hangman having has been closed so he waits for frustration to create a new one. Tempers always flare eventually and he is the Best Bout Machine - he can outlast anyone. They dance together, as in sync as they ever were. Each move countered, every hold broken. Kenny waits and taunts but Hangman remains steady. His punches are stronger than he remembers. He moves faster and strikes harder. And he won't stay down. It's over twenty minutes in when something ominous coils down Kenny's spine. That very first thought of he might lose.

_He can't. He won't. But he might._

And still they attack each other with everything they have. Kenny feels desperation creeping in and he embraces it. Hangman is just another opponent. End it and end it now. Be done with this. Extinguish the light and keep going. Don't ever stop. He pulls on everything he has - drains every last reserve - and executes the One-Winged Angel. One, two, and then nothing. Hangman has rolled away. Adam has kicked out.

It should be impossible. Hangman wasn't capable of that. Those eyes are locked on his - still fiery and clear - but now laced with sorrow. As if it is Hangman's turn to dread. And yet, Kenny finds hope in them. Not for the match or for the title but for him. The light reaches out and yearns and wonders. Now is not the time for such things. It is too late. It has been too late for too long. But Adam's gaze remains, asking a single question.

_Do you trust me?_

Kenny doesn't know the answer. It feels like he once did, long ago. Everything slows down around him. His heartbeat stops, the crowd goes silent, he cannot move. Everything is frozen except Adam. Never blinking, never faltering - he strikes. Not just any strike - a V-Trigger. His move. There is no anger or pain. Just blankness. And Kenny wobbles but it isn't enough. Not enough to make him fall, not enough to make him move. But Adam is still in motion, up and over the ropes. Kenny sees it coming - knows what's next - but he doesn't move. It feels like a choice. He waits. The light waits. A Buckshot Lariat. The Last Call. Adam performed their move all on his own. It's wrong and right and perfect. He drops. He falls. He stays down.

A weight that should be more familiar than it is covers him and Kenny almost wishes that he could see Adam's eyes. One - he wants to get up but why should he? Two - he wants to stay down and why shouldn't he? There are thoughts louder than the questions and the doubt and the darkness.

_It could only have been him. I'm happy it's him._

Three.

Music that it isn't his rings out across the arena. The crowd cheers and chants and rejoices. But Adam remains. Those eyes are staring into his now and the worry is unmistakable, especially at such close distance. He is speaking but Kenny cannot hear him. Has no idea what it is that he is so desperate to say. Adam is pulled away by the title and the celebration and Kenny lets him go.

He knows what he has done. What he has relinquished. What he has given up. But it is easier to breathe. Easier to see. There is still weight in the darkness so he stays where he is. Defeated and broken. Adam is triumphant alone. No one joins him. No one helped him rise. They all had helped him fall. Kenny has no place here. He tries to stand on legs that cannot hold him. The aviators return to his face, even if he cannot remember how. One step and then another. There is no energy for a third. Blindly, he reaches out - knowing it is pointless - and waits for the thud. But nothing happens.

_Everything happens._

Arms wrap around him and for a moment, Kenny doesn't understand. Cannot comprehend why he is still upright. How has he not fallen? Where is his thud?

It's too loud and too quiet. It's too much and not enough. He's pulled tighter and closer. Words are being whispered in his ear but he cannot understand them. There is a hand in his hair, working its way through damp curls that suddenly feel too long. The light brightens and bursts and the impact of it staggers him. And yet, he still doesn't fall. The words are clearer now.

_I've got you. It's going to be okay. I've got you._

Adam.

He had watched Adam fall, all that time ago. Adam has refused to do the same. Out of the corner of his eye, Kenny sees the title. Laying in the corner of the ring like it was useless. Unnecessary. Unimportant. The only thing Adam wanted. Now abandoned and left behind. Instead, he stands in the middle of the ring, holding him close. Kenny knows he made a different choice but he likes this one better. Adam touches his forehead to his and breathes in deep. The angle is all wrong for him to see for himself but somehow Kenny knows that the smile on Adam's face isn't that of a conquering rival or a victorious challenger. It's soft and a little crooked and something Kenny has missed and needed all this time.

The darkness fades further with each passing moment. Yet he still feels wrong. The shadows still tug at him and the voices still whisper. Push him away. Fight back. Kick, scream, hurt. Hangman is nothing. A weakness and a curse. The Cleaner is everything. All that could ever matter. But Adam doesn't let go so he lifts his tired arms and lets himself hold Adam in return. Lets himself be held. 

_Do you trust me?_

Somehow, they are outside of the ring and walking up the ramp. Adam still has one arm around him - a hand gripping his waist. Words of soothing reassurance are still being whispered in his ear. The ref is following along beside them, holding the title with a thousand questions in her eyes. Adam pauses at the top and waves to the crowd before they disappear backstage. Everyone and no one is there. They've hidden from the Cleaner for a while and nobody has seen Kenny.

Except Adam.

In battle, Adam saw. In victory, Adam caught him. He came to rescue him. To save him. To find him. Even now, Kenny doesn't know. It matters, he knows that. But he cannot remember why. They had both fallen. The same time - the same trajectory - but separate and alone. The darkness had embraced Kenny. He had wrapped himself in it, in return. 

_I feel like he better make other plans._

And he had. Adam had fallen. Again and again. He'd hit the ground over and over. Thud after thud. Yet still he struggled. He refused. He fought. He disappeared. He returned. Kenny had barely seen it - a flicker in the shadows that he could just barely see. And he'd ignored it all. Until Adam had looked and seen and held fast. 

It should be a celebration. A moment of victory at long last. But Adam refuses congratulations and no one dares come near. The light hasn't brightened or dimmed. It's warmer, though. More full of life. The voices are muted - silenced by whispers of affection in his ear. He's led away, down a hallway he doesn't remember. Each step is a little easier than the last but still Adam holds on. The darkness laughs - a rasping, gasping thing - and it echoes off the walls. They stop. Adam turns to face him, never letting go. And there is that look again - penetrating worry and naked concern. 

_Do you trust me?_

Kenny can feel his head nod, even if he gave it no such command. It's nonsensical, of course. Nothing has been spoken but Adam smiles anyway. Soft and a little crooked. A single hand reaches up and Kenny knows an instant of fear before the light forces it away. A pull and a thud and everything is too bright. Too much. And yet he still stands. Aviators dropped unneeded to the ground. Kenny can feel it but he cannot see it. All he can see is the light reflected in Adam's clear eyes.

He reaches out and up - Adam's beard soft beneath his palm. They meet somewhere in the middle. Lips touching, thumbs brushing, hands shaking. Had they kissed before? Kenny can't remember. There's so much he still can't remember. But he hopes they hadn't. He wants this to be the first. Not the last. Not the only. Adam tastes like hope and promise and possibility. The shadows taunt, the darkness mocks, the light smiles.

It's soft and a little crooked and Kenny thinks that this time - after all this time - he might be able to keep it.

_I'll try._

-fin- 

**Author's Note:**

> And I don't even think we get the Cleaner Kenny Omega out of this storyline, either. I think we see a new version of him - something different. But this thing demanded to be written just like this. *shrugs*


End file.
